>> welcome to "the journal." >> thank you for joining us. >> our headlines this our. of video that appears to show american soldiers urinating on the courses that taliban fighters draws condemnation. >> two years on, he remembers the earthquake with half a million people -- haiti members the earthquake would have a million people homeless.

afghan president homage karzai in the u.s. defense secretary leon panetta have condemned u.s. soldiers urinating on the bodies of dead taliban fighters. they are attempting to identify those responsible for an incident likely to inflame relations with afghanistan. karzai has called for those responsible to be brought to justice swiftly. >> these pictures appear to show u.s. marines urinating on the corpses of dead taliban fighters. the acts, if true, are highly offensive. u.s. authorities believe they have identified the unit at the center of the allegations. but the pentagon and the white house said the culprits will be held accountable. >> good morning, everyone. is absolutely inconsistent with american values, standards of

behavior we expect from our military personnel, and how the vast majority of our military personnel particularly marines hold themselves responsible. >> others are shocked by the incident. >> this should go to the u.n. human rights commission. they need to be brought in front of an international court. >> it is against islam and jeopardize peace talks with the taliban. it just shows the u.s. does not want peace talks. >> the taliban's reaction has been surprisingly reserved. a spokesman said the incident would not stop the current negotiations, adding the u.s. military had already committed far worse crimes in afghanistan. >> the taliban says it will not break off potential peace talks over this incident, but what kind of impact will this have in afghanistan? we put that question to our

correspondent in kabul. >> what we will be looking for is to see whether these images provoked some sort of demonstrations or riots. the images are being played every hour on the main national television bulletin's. there has so far been no demonstrations it yet, but people love been lining up to condemn the -- people have been lining up to condemn the images. i think people will be looking to see tomorrow whether there are demonstrations. >> that was our correspondent in kabul. let's bring in our correspondent from washington. what has been the response in the capitol? when can we see an investigation? >> the official response has been condemnation from the secretary of defense leon panetta, saying this was

deplorable. i have spoken to people who are just shaking their heads, saying it is deplorable how a couple of soldiers could ruin the image of the military. there will be investigations. first criminal investigation by the military were the people in the video face prison. they are facing a prison terms up to 10 years. been an investigation to find out if there were structural deficiencies, how this could have happened. we do not know the time table. >> the afghan war is now the longest in american history. this is not the first time we have seen the inside this. white in the military not get this under control? >> there -- why can the military not get this under control? >> there are good and bad people in the military. you cannot do anything about

this huge pressure that is on the soldiers. they have been at war for many years, some of them being transferred from barack to afghanistan -- from iraq to afghanistan, and some of them are not cut out for that kind of work. that is not an excuse. is inexcusable. it may be an explanation of how these people get in this state of mind. >> in other news, the arab league has confirmed two of its observers have quit the mission to syria. syria is continuing its crackdown on protesters. meanwhile, clashes continued in the east of the country, and reports from homs say the regime continues to fight with demonstrators their. other observers are joining at the opposition, the free syrian

army. to importance eurozone countries -- two important purism countries have good news. >> the worst of the eurozone debt crisis is behind us. they met with very strong demand, prompting a drop in borrowing rates for both countries, are rise on the road, and a rally in european stock markets. >> there was relief in madrid. spain's government bond auction raised twice as much capital as the target. three-year bonds sold at a yield of 3.8%. only recently borrowing costs for spain were 1% higher. >> is very positive. we have raised twice the targeted amount with a much lower yield. the markets are welcoming

measures taken in the last few weeks. >> italy raised 12 billion euros. 1-year treasury bills were priced to yield 12.5%. italy and spain have withstood the year's first tests, but there are more to come. by the end of march, italy has to pay back 2 billion euros' worth of bonds. spain has to pay back a total of 36 billion euros by the end of the quarter, so it will have to sell more to make the payments. despite italy's austerity efforts come at it has 2 trillion euros in public debt, making it the biggest liability for the eurozone. >> as a rule of thumb, it is up

to a 75% of a downgrade. >> the italian prime minister reiterated that italy would continue its austerity drive. >> the european central bank benchmark lending rate remains at a record low of 1%. the ec be made a decision at its first policy -- the ecb made a decision as first policy meeting in frankfurt today. in a press conference after the meeting, the ecb president mario draghi said there were signs of stabilization. and the markets after rallying -- european blue chips gave up much of their gains after disappointing economic data in

the united states was released. we have this from frankfurt. >> the well received options are in spain and italy led to a small rally here on the frankfurt floor. traders said that this might be the turning point in this debt crisis. definitely they are saying is easier for states like spain and italy to get fresh new money. the dax went up because of the news that came in here, but at the end of the session, its is it dragged down -- it is dragged down by wall street. u.s. unemployment is higher than expected. retail sales went down. the euro went up. >> we will have a closer look at thursday's numbers and germany's blue-chip dax finished

up. the euro stocks eurostoxx finished up. in currency markets, the euro considerably higher today, trading at $1.20. an embargo of iranian oil looks likely to be delayed for six months to allow countries like greece, italy, and spain to organize alternative supplies. france, germany, and the u.k. have been pushing for the embargo. it has the support of all 27 eu member states as well as the united states, and after a visit from u.s. treasury secretary timothy geithner, japan has also pledged to reduce its dependence on iranian oil. but with iran being opec's

second-largest producer, it has put pressure on oil prices. if the push for an iranian oil embargo was not enough bad news for oil prices, the barrel price in london shot up more than 2% on news that nigeria's main oil union has threatened to shut down production unless domestic subsidies are reinstated. gasoline prices in nigeria have doubled since january 1. striking action across the country has closed schools, hospitals, and businesses. international food prices remain high lester. the prices for milk, wheat, and meet -- meat rose to record levels. it was particularly difficult in countries where disproportionate amounts of incomes are used to

purchase food. >> prices for cereals it reached record highs, a disaster for people living in poverty who depend on foreign aid for their survival. could prices rose sharply for years ago during -- food prices rose sharply four years ago during the financial crisis. they have been rising again. united nations shows the highest average since the agency started compiling international food prices in 1990. experts are cautiously optimistic that global food prices are past their peak. last month, they were driven down by bumper crops in many parts of the world, with cereals and sugar yields particularly high. food prices could decline further this year. >> and now back. >> not all food aid is getting

through. food assistance to more than 1 million people in somalia, as a famine ravages the war-torn country -- one agency can no longer deliver food to southern and central somalia because its workers are being harassed and stopped by al-shabab militants. the aid group says it is in talks with militants to resolve the problems. haitians are marking the second anniversary of the devastating 2010 earthquake with church services. memorial services are being held at a u.n. base and in the capitol where thousands of quake victims are buried. the disaster killed tens of thousands and displaced 1.5 million haitians, many of them in temporary shelters. >> the second anniversary of the quake.

many spent the day praying for the hundreds of thousands to died in the country's biggest natural disaster on record. here, another way to remember. press for the dead in the port- au-prince cathedral. the entire government district lies in ruins. 500,000 people are still living in makeshift accommodations. some of the tent cities are like slums. haiti's president is aware. >> there is so much to be done. but again, i do not have a magic stick where i can make it like this. >> hundreds of homes up and built. it is a major feat in a country like haiti. >> could it move faster, i am

sure that it could. you have to build hospitals. is it meeting the needs of the poorest? >> for the moment, people in haiti are remembering those who passed away on january 12, 2010. >> here in germany, president christian wulff endorsed the first calls for his resignation from members of the some party. he is still under scrutiny for controversial home runs. so far he has the support of chancellor angela merkel. >> there has been great interest in the german media over the chancellor's reaction. how far does for support for the president of? at a new year's reception, she demonstrated that all was well and business was going ahead as

usual. at this reception, german citizens were being honored for exceptional services to the community. but the media did not let the guests forget the wulff scandal . there were asked how the scandal affected their feelings for the president. >> it has already been damaged. he has had to face up to statements. >> the president should continue just as he has been doing. >> wulff seems to want to do just that, and chancellor martell -- merkel's presence in the case she thinks he should do just that. members of the anti-corruption group, transparency international, were conspicuous by their absence. >> stay with us. we will be going to slovenia and portugal to visit our two

capitals of culture in europe. do not go away.

>> welcome back. thank you for staying with us. every year, the european union names the city as its cultural capital. the aim is to showcase the rich local heritage. this year, but cities have been chosen. the city of guimaraes in portugal shares the honor with the slovenian city of maribor. let's go first to maribor. a writer takes us around the city. >> like an embrace, then you're-

covered -- vineyard covered hills. on the streets, as libyan mingles with german at -- slovenian mingles with german and plenty of english. industry has collapsed and unemployment is high. some sikh culture as a ticket out of the crisis. -- some see culture as a ticket of the crisis. >> over the past 20 years, maribor has become more provincial. with the status of european cultural capital, we want to turn that around. we want to open the city up and put maribor on the map of the world's leading cultural destinations. >> to do that, he is confronting the town's crisis head-on.

he has scouted out abandoned factories as venues for theater performances or art installations. despite a lack of funds, he succeeded in attracting major international projects to maribor. he is convinced they can inject new life into the sights and transform them into beacons of hope. >> these calls were a reflection of yugoslavia's multicultural society. workers came from here from bosnia, croatia, slovenia. together they created a new community in maribor which still partially exists today. they helped create a very specific atmosphere in the town with as little stories, at its slang, jokes, and its laid-back attitude. >> another characteristic is the

mild climate. maribor has 300 days of sunshine a year. locals like to meet on the river and enjoy a glass of local wine. the wine made from these grapes is only given to visiting vips. former u.s. president bill clinton is one of the lucky few known to on a bottle. now back to culture in the national theatre. rehearsals are under way for the opera "black masks." ♪ not exactly easy listening, but organizers of the opportunity to showcase unknown slovenian talent. the opera is being directed by a filmmaker.

>> "black masks" is the biggest slovenian opera. it was made only three times in three years. it is a chance to make it acceptable for a large audience. >> that is exactly how the program is envisioned for 2012. these the kinds of ideas that make taking a break from writing worthwhile. >> of course it is a once-in-a- lifetime experience for me to do this work for the cultural capital. probably i would never wanted to do it again by their. id demands all of your energy. but on the other hand, you have an array of experiences with different kinds of people. and i think that will influence

mayan writing later on. -- my own riding later on. -- writing later on. >> perhaps that can wait until the festivities have passed. for now, they are making the most of modest resources. is what attracted him to the project in the first place. >> maybe it is utopian to think that culture can change things, but without that kind of utopia, i probably would not be here. >> maribor is hoping for some utopia, that the distinction as the 2012 cultural capital will push stagnation of the city. >> now it is time to go to the portuguese city of guimaraes. its history goes back to the turbulence years of the conquistadores. today is the most livable city

in portugal. >> everything has a tradition of culture about a. when the clock on the church tower strikes 9:00, marco can be found here, at the cafe, reading his newspaper. the 38-year-old theater director is proud of the cultural heritage of his hometown. >> guimaraes has already made a name for itself on a national level with this modern art and jazz festival that attracts national interest. being the cultural capital will provide an added boost and the cultural relationship was strengthened by the end of the year. >> guimaraes also has its history. portugal's first team was born here. the -- first king was born here. the walls behind him are over

1000 years old. >> everyday here is special. is different in a way. there is magic hidden in the big stone blocks of the medieval fortress behind us, as well as the massive granite rock is built upon. >> guimaraes is also known as portugals cradle city, and that is what some many tourists come for, but usually only for a day or two. despite the dominant historical significance of this town, artists are set on establishing a modern center for creativity. they want to keep travelers here longer with something new and unusual. the director of two marco barbosa is working on the european cultural -- european

is an invitation to the city, the region, and the country to become more active in the field of culture. it can help improve how we interact with culture. >> guimaraes's historic center has been described as a unesco world heritage site for over a decade. he lives here, too. on the way home, he points out his favorite site in the old town. it is a small restaurant. the owner cooks everything herself. today's menu features triepe. good food and a friendly crowd. the recipe for success in 2012. he toasts the capital of

culture. >> that is our look at europe's cultural capitals for the year, maribor and guimaraes. thank you for joining us. captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org--